Big Pipes Less Used?

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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I was trying to figure out whether I smoked particular bowl sizes more often than others.

Small pipe bowls are self limiting. If they suit the time you have, they're great, but they

only hold so much tobacco. However, big bowls are adaptable to any size smoke. You can

fill them to any level, for 15 minutes, or the long hour of rumination. Do you pick up your

big bowl pipes as readily as your Group 3 and 4 size pipes? Or do you steer clear of them

on the basis that you don't want that long a smoke at the moment? This seems useful in

choosing pipes, if you are looking at the more standard Group 4 versus Group 5's and above.

 

numbersix

Lifer
Jul 27, 2012
5,449
53
Or do you steer clear of them

on the basis that you don't want that long a smoke at the moment?
I usually do this - but filling a large bowl halfway is a good idea for a bunch of reasons, I think I need to rethink my methods.

 

boudreaux

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 7, 2013
676
1
I often don't smoke a full bowl, even on the mid-range styles. I am finding that I prefer billard shapes to others that I liked in the past.

 

teufelhund

Lifer
Mar 5, 2013
1,497
3
St. Louis, MO
I personally enjoy smoking my small pipes and take them on the go for a quick smoke. But I do tend to use my larger pipes at home or when I'm not moving about.

 

kashmir

Lifer
May 17, 2011
2,712
64
Northern New Jersey
I usually do Group 3 & 4 sized bowls. And go through a good number a day. Perhaps I should choose a larger bowl, so as to reduce my burn rate of pipe cleaners. But most of my pipes are Group 4 in size. Good excuse for PAD. Need more pipes to reduce my pipe cleaner expenses. LOL.

 

cortezattic

Lifer
Nov 19, 2009
15,147
7,637
Chicago, IL
I take the chamber diameter into consideration more than total capacity.

A narrow billiard will smoke slower and cooler than a wide squat bulldog.

Maybe that's why flakes seem to work better in narrower bowls (for me).
I wish someone would give their opinions on what I just wrote,

because sometimes I half-think that it's all in my head.

 

kashmir

Lifer
May 17, 2011
2,712
64
Northern New Jersey
A resounding yes Cortez on chimneys smoking cooler than pots. Funny thing is chimneys, as a rule, have thinner walls than do pots. I chalk it up to increased availability of oxygen to the combusting ember in a pot over a chimney / billiard. Hence pot needs thicker walls. Best smokers are thick walled billiards and chimneys. Worst smokers thin walled pots, IMHO.

 

taerin

Lifer
May 22, 2012
1,851
1
I got pipes of all sizes and just fill them up all the way during a smoke, if I want a shorter one, I get a smaller pipe.

 

gwtwdbss

Lifer
Jun 13, 2012
2,945
16
53
I agree Cortez. I mostly smoke flakes so a 3/4 to 13/16 inch bowl diameter is perfect for me. Anything larger and it is not a satisfying smoke for me.

 

andrew

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,042
400
I like smaller bowls, as I find big bowls the tobacco gets way to strong towards the end and ashy tasting.

 

englishdave

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 31, 2012
130
0
Denver, CO
I smoke my pipes mostly at home while I'm sitting. I smoke very slowly, so my large bowled pipes can least a couple of hours or more.
I don't worry about it. I often find that if I set them down partially smoked they light up and taste just as good or better. Often, they will be waiting for me in the morning. I suppose this is a form of delayed gratification technique.
If I know I'm going to be traveling, I tend to favor my smaller pipes. But I try to make sure my pipes get smoked in some reasonable order, so that they all get some rest, and they all get some love.
That being said, my future pipe acquisitions will tend towards smaller bowls, and billiards or apples, which I have come to love as I progress towards whatever bizarre definition of the "perfect" smoke I am slowly defining...

 

brdavidson

Lifer
Dec 30, 2012
2,017
5
Im gravitating towards smaller pipes right now, I'm taking Kashmir's advice and clenching more so small and light arefor me. My favorite right now is a Rattray's straight panel billiard that is exceptionally light.

 

smokeystover

Might Stick Around
Sep 20, 2012
87
185
I tend to favor group 3 and smaller group 4 pipes for weight as much as length of the smoke. I can always reload and have another bowl in a smaller pipe. The few larger pipes I have get smoked very rarely. It seems to me that constantly filling a larger bowl, say a group 5 or 6 billiard, half full or less changes the ratio of diameter to depth, and makes it smoke like a smaller pot.

 

zack24

Lifer
May 11, 2013
1,726
2
I was talking to Tim over at JH Lowes today about adding a couple of new sizes of chamber drills- he was saying that most of the pipe guys in the US are drilling almost everything to 3/4 or 13/16. Very little over that size...

 

trailspike48

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 15, 2013
767
2
I have many sizes of bowls in my small but growing collection. I find the only pipe that doesn't get used regularly is a large Ser Jacopo, and I tend to avoid it due to the weight not the capacity. I believe it over 90 grams and is good for a two hour smoke when filled.

 

rigmedic1

Lifer
May 29, 2011
3,896
75
I have to agree with Cortezattic, tall narrow bowls for flakes. That being said, for my daily drivers I like a Group 3 or 4, and tend to avoid the super big bowls these days. Those pipes tend to be heavy, and my nicotine tolerance is too low for a single sitting with a group 5. I mostly admire my big ones in their display case. Now, for DGT they can be useful. :wink:

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
I smoke mostly group 4 and 5 sized pipes with a few smaller 6's in the mix. I do have a couple of 3's for a shorter smoke but since I have plenty of time to smoke, don't reach for them that often. There are times when I want a real long smoke and fire up my 6's, it all depends on the mood. I always fill my pipes to the top so that I have a nice even cake at all times.

 

erichbaumer

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 4, 2012
738
5
Illinois
I've started clenching alot more lately, so my churchwarden and larger pipes (briar calibash, large carbed pipe) see much less use than before. I've really been turning more to straight billiards and my fullbend Wellington and Peterson.

 
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